Beautiful Places

May 21, 2023

 

INTRODUCTION

Think about some of the most beautiful places you have been?

Think not just about what you saw, but how it made you feel?

 

KEY POINT: Beautiful places encourage human flourishing

Flourishing: for people to experience the fullness of life

Rooted in relationship with Jesus: John 10:10—life to the full!

 

TEXT: Genesis 1:1-3, 2:8-15

 

The Spirit of God is hovering over the chaos to create something beautiful (Gen. 1:1-2)

Description of the state of the earth before God acts upon it:

Formless and empty: unexpressed potential

Darkness was over the surface of the deep: Uncertain and unsettling

 

YET…the Spirit of God is hovering over the waters…ready to move and act…so that his creation may flourish

 

Order helps create the optimal conditions for flourishing (Gen. 1:3)

As Genesis 1 unfolds, God acts upon a formless and empty world to form it (days 1-3) and fill it (days 4-6)

The Word of God is an ordering element: It assembles, it organizes

 

Temptation of Chapter 3: Make humanity think that God uses his word to withhold good rather than to enable good

 

Beauty helps bring out our best (Gen. 2:8-15)

Eden: A walled garden—orchard, beauty, a place of delight

It was the place God placed humanity for their flourishing

 

Creating Beautiful Places

 

Inviting the Spirit to transform our homes

He still hovers over the chaos, ready to bring beauty to our homes

 

Picking a room to ‘order’

Starting small—pick a room

 

Doing something rather than nothing

Small disciplines lived out through time make a big difference

 

Working together

This is our home! We all have a responsibility toward its care

“If you can walk, you can work”

 

Enjoying the space

The Garden of Eden was meant to be enjoyed: A place for rest, connection, and peace

 

RESPONSE: Holy Spirit, I invite you to into the chaos of our home to bring beauty and life